I went back through the yard records, and the white-cheeked bird was around in late winter last season (March of 2009) and showed up for the first time this winter season on November 18th. It was not around during the summer - only a few juncos at our place stay over the summer, even with feeders up. This always surprises me a bit, as we are at 800 feet in elevation and in the foothills - presumably they head even higher upslope or further north for breeding season. Given we didn't see the bird during the summer, it definitely showed wintering site fidelity - it will be interesting to see how long it stays this winter and if it shows up again next year.

We have a junco with plumage almost identical to that shown in John Tubbs' photograph. We're on the west side of Whidbey Island, west of Oak Harbor. We first saw the bird in August 2008 shortly after we had moved into our house. He came to our feeder all last winter, we saw him occasionally during the summer (didn't have a feeder out then), and he's back this winter. Comparing photos of him from last winter to this, it appears the pattern of his white facial feathers hasn't changed at all.